


A Mind's a Terrible Thing to Waste

by HydraRaptor



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Some Adrienette at the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2018-12-26 17:12:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12063462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HydraRaptor/pseuds/HydraRaptor
Summary: After a run-of-the-mill akuma attack, Ladybug and Chat Noir think everything's said and done.  Then, the akuma's last attack hits...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A lot has happened between writing my last story and this one: moving to a new home, getting all that set up, then moving to college, first week, etc. This idea had been stirring around in my head for a while, and while I do want to get back to my other story eventually, I know where I want to take this one.

Marinette sat on her bed, bored.  Unlike most afternoons, she had no homework to do, Alya and Nino were busy, the shop was quiet, and she was in a creative slump.  Had it not been pouring outside, she would've gladly gone to the Trocadéro for inspiration.  Tikki floated up to her balcony, staring out the window at the downpour.  "Maybe it'll let up soon," she suggested, eliciting a sigh from Marinette.

"When I last checked the weather," Marinette said, "the rain will continue until well past midnight."  She checked her phone, pulling up the app again.  "Nope; until midday tomorrow." Locking her phone, Marinette let herself flop back into her bed and stared up at the ceiling.  "I just wish something would happen."

Suddenly, her phone buzzed and she pounced on it:  Alya texted her.

**Alya:  You're welcome, in advance.**

She sat confused for a moment, but before she could respond, another text buzzed her phone.  Marinette jumped, almost throwing her phone in the process, when she saw who it was.

**Adrien:  Hey, Marinette; don't know if you have my number yet, so this is Adrien if you don't.  My schedule cleared up for the next few days due to the weather, and my father's out of town until next week.  I was wondering if you'd like to hang out at all.  It'd be just us, though; Alya and Nino are busy.**

Marinette's heart stopped and she froze.   _Hanging out with Adrien?  Alone?_ Her mind wandered to their future, _happily married with three children asking how they started dating, then it all coming back to an evening where Adrien and her were hanging out one rainy day, their hands brushed and they turned to each other-_

"-arinette?  Marinette?"  She came back to her senses, Tikki waving a paw in front of her face.  "Good; thought I'd lost you there for a moment.  Now, what are you going to say to him?"

Marinette quickly typed out a response, her fingers flying over her keyboard.

**Marinette:  yea thatd be awesome. do u wanna come over here or should i go to u?**

Just as she hit send, a loud bang came through the storm, something that wasn't thunder.  A minute later, a notification from the Ladyblog popped up on her phone warning her of a new akuma in Paris.  Reluctantly, Marinette locked her phone and turned to Tikki.  "Tikki,  _transformez-moi!_ _"_  A minute later, Ladybug jumped into the storm.

Ladybug flew from rooftop to rooftop as she pulled up the Ladyblog on her yo-yo.  Alya had recently added not only AkumaWatch, that warned people of akumas, but also an AkumaTracker, which showed where the akuma was last seen.  From where it had been spotted, she could tell it was headed to the Eiffel Tower and changed her course to meet it.

As she got closer to where she would cut the akuma off, Ladybug could see pink beams firing from where she assumed the akuma was attacking. Suddenly, Chat Noir came into view, jumping onto a building, a beam following. Doubling her speed, Ladybug ran to her intercept her partner. The akuma came into view behind Chat, flying above him before disappearing into the rain clouds before she could get a good look at it. The pink beam vanished a second later. "Chat," she called out to her still-running partner. He saw her and made a beeline, tackling her as a pink beam flew over their heads from behind. The akuma cackled and flew back into the sky. "My Lady, a pleasure as always" Chat said, helping her up.

"What are we dealing with, Chat?"

" _La Gomme_ , a teacher who was annoyed one too many times by her students, can fly, uses the clouds as coverage, and can erase anything with those beams."  Chat held up his staff, the bottom of which cut off at an angle.  "Very annoying, but since your yo-yo and string are indestructible, they should do fine."

"And where's the akuma on her?"

The akuma dropped down from the sky again, firing a beam at the superheroes as they leapt out of the way.  The building was cleaved in two and began to collapse beneath them. Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped to the streets, running down the road while trying not to slip in the rain.   _La Gomme_ followed, firing beam after beam above their heads and causing several buildings to begin falling on them.  Dodging the falling debris, the superheroes ran into the fields in front of the Eiffel Tower, then turned to face the akuma.

Ladybug threw her yo-yo, catching the akuma by her foot.   _La Gomme_ fired a beam at the yo-yo string, but as Chat had predicted, it did nothing. Chat shoved the pointed end of his staff in the ground and extended it long enough for him to use as a catapult, launching himself at the akuma to bring her down.  Instead, the akuma flew high once more, pulling Ladybug into Chat's arc and causing them to collide and fall.  The akuma cackled again before flying towards the Eiffel Tower.

"I guess it's time," Ladybug said as she and Chat Noir stood back up.  "Lucky Charm!"  A curved mirror landed in her hand a second later.  "No matter what your powers may tell you, I still think you look beautiful just as you are," Chat said.  Ladybug paused as she thought over the comment.  "Did you just insult me?" she asked.  Chat grinned, "it's  _paw_ -sible..."  Ladybug looked to the akuma and saw something glitter on it:  a necklace had come out and now sat proudly on her chest as she lasered through the legs of the Tower.

"Chat, I have an idea.  It's risky, but I think I can pull it off.  Just destroy the Tower when it falls, then," she smiled, "get her to shoot at you,  _chaton_."

"Ok, then what?"

"Eh, I'll think of something," Ladybug said, copying Chat's grin.  "But seriously, I'll handle the rest."

Chat nodded, activating his Cataclysm as the Tower began to fall.  "You're lucky distractions are my specialty," Chat said before leaping up and touching falling Eiffel Tower. Within moments, the dust descended on Ladybug before being washed off by the rain.  Chat said something to the akuma, probably a pun, that caused it to scream and begin chasing him, firing beams at her partner.   _I'll let him run around a bit for that remark earlier; he can handle himself,_ she thought to herself as she opened her yo-yo.  Since it was connected to her phone, she went to her alerts to see if Adrien had responded yet.  She frowned when the only alerts were from the Ladyblog about their current fight. With a sigh, she closed it up and readied herself.

Ladybug whistled for Chat, hoping his improved hearing heard her.  His head twisted back to look at her and she motioned him to come.  He nodded, then shouted something at the akuma, skidding around and running towards Ladybug.  She prepared herself, angling the mirror as Chat got closer.  "DIVE!" she shouted as Chat leapt to the side.   _La Gomme's_ beam continued on, striking the mirror.  With Ladybug's aim, the beam was reflected back to the necklace, destroying it.   _La Gomme_ fired one last beam straight up as she fell to the ground, screaming in rage.  Without missing a step, Ladybug whirled her yo-yo at the black butterfly that now flew in the rain, catching it.  " _Au revoir, petite_ _papillon_ ," she said as a white butterfly flew from her yo-yo.  "Miraculous Ladybug."  The mirror flew into the air, dispersing into thousands of ladybugs that flew all over Paris, fixing the destroyed buildings and rebuilding the Eiffel Tower.

Chat Noir held up his staff, and within moments the ladybugs fixed it.  With a smile, he held out his fist.   _"Bien joué?"_ he asked.  Ladybug returned his smile.   _"Bien joué._  See ya, Chat."

"I will be counting the minutes until next we meet, my Lady," Chat said with a bow before running off.  Suddenly, a pink beam dropped from the sky and struck Chat. "CHAT!" Ladybug screamed as she ran over to him.  He stood still for a moment, frozen how he had been hit.  Then he turned his head left, then right.  "Chat?" Ladybug whispered, reaching out a hand to him. He turned around and she let out a sigh of relief; he was ok.  "That scared me, Chat.  I guess  _La Gomme's_ beams didn't affect people."

Chat Noir looked around again then back to Ladybug.  "Oh, were you talking to me, ma'am?" he asked confusedly.

"Chat, quit joking."  A beeping in her ear told her that she was almost out of time.  

"Am I the cat you keep talking to?" Chat Noir asked.

"If this is an attempt to learn who I am, it won't work," Ladybug said as she turned around, walking away.

"Uh...who are you?" Chat looked down at himself.  "And do you know who I am?"

Ladybug froze.  La Gomme's  _beam erases things; what if it erased Chat's memories?_  Another beep sounded in her ears.  Hesitantly, Ladybug took Chat's hand and pulled him. "Follow me; we need to move quickly, ok?"  Chat nodded.  Ladybug swallowed, then threw her yo-yo to the roofs, pulling them both up to the rooftops.  Scanning the roofs, she saw a derelict bird coop on a nearby roof.  "C'mon," she said as she leaped across the street.  She turned back to see Chat staring over the edge, then backing away.

"That was really impressive and all, but are you sure I can make this jump?" he shouted across.  "We make jumps like this all the time," Ladybug called back.  "Just use your staff if you're uncertain."

Chat looked over his back, his hands reaching around before pulling his staff out.  "You call this a staff?"  He looked at the end, his finger brushing the extension button. Without warning, the staff extended right into Chat's nose.  Ladybug couldn't help but wince as it struck, then she heard third beep go off in her ear, causing some anxiety.

She threw her yo-yo around Chat and yanked him over to her side.  "We have to hurry to that coop," she said.

Chat nodded, hand still pressed to his nose.  "I like rain, at least I think I do, but I am a little more than soaked right now."  They ran across the roof to the coop.  Chat arrived first and held the door open.  "After you, ma'am."

"It's Ladybug," she said, walking into the coop.  It was dry inside and, thankfully, empty of its previous residents.  There were three sections to the coop, from what she could tell: an outside area with mesh surrounding it and two alcoves where they could detransform in private.

"Hurry," she said, waving Chat into one of the alcoves, "you need to detransform in here; we can't know who we are."

"But I don't even know who I am," Chat said as she pushed him in and pulled the door shut.  As the final beep echoed in her ear as she went into her alcove, closing the door and detransforming.

"Quick, Tikki; we need to recharge so we can help Chat," she said as she began to pace the small dark room.  Tikki nodded and began to chew on one of the cookies Marinette kept in her purse.

"Uh, am I supposed to do anything?" Chat called from the other side of the wall.

"You should detransform in a minute; if you look at your ring you'll see how long you have based on how much is left of the paw on it."

After a pause, Chat called back through.  "There's a full paw on it.  Does that mean I have to wait long?"

Both Marinette and Tikki stopped and looked at each other.  "How can it be full?  He used Cataclysm."

Tikki sat for a moment in thought.  She handed Marinette her cookie and phased through the separating wall.  Marinette expected him to scream like she had when she first saw the kwami, but she heard no sound.  A minute passed and Tikki returned.  "His counter has paused.  Plagg, Chat's kwami, has had trouble in the past with his Chosen being revealed after taking hits for Ladybugs, so he put on special parameters to stop that from happening.  I don't know what he did exactly, but I don't think Chat Noir can detransform at all."

A loud sneeze startled them.  "Uh, Ladybug and Ladybug's...ladybug friend? I seem to be allergic to birds, or feathah-ah-ah-AH CHOO!" Chat sneezed again.

Marinette smacked her forehead.  "Uh, yea," she said, "I forgot about that.  Sorry, Chat, we won't be here much longer.  Just hold out, ok?"

"Maybe if Chat regains his memory, he'll be able to detransform again," Tikki said.

"Well, looks like hanging out with Adrien will have to wait," Marinette said with a sigh.  "We have to get Chat's memories back first."

Tikki smiled.  "And I didn't have to convince you at all this time."

Marinette gave Tikki a dirty look as she handed back the cookie.  "Just eat up so we can get to it."  She took out her phone and shot a short message to Adrien.

Chat sat in the darkness, his nose aching from the baton smashing it and from all the sneezing he'd just done.  Suddenly, his staff vibrated. Hesitantly, he held it out in front of him, then pressed the paw print.  The baton opened up and Chat jumped for a second before realizing that it was just like a phone.  A message appeared on the screen;

**M: sorry to cancel but i just got sick n dont want u to get whatevr i got sorry**

Chat scratched his head.  Something about M stirred something in his memory, but he couldn't place just what it was stirring.  He could see someone in his mind, but they were to blurry to make out.   _I'll remember eventually,_ he thought to himself.   _I hope..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When night comes, Ladybug decides to keep Chat close, so she lets him stay at a friend's house for the evening. Marinette Dupain-Cheng's house, to be precise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to get this out sooner; I really did. But then, Friday, Concrete and Gold by the Foo Fighters came out and I've been listening to it like crazy since...sorry...

It had been a couple hours since the akuma had been defeated, and Chat Noir still had no memories.  Ladybug had led him around Paris to various monuments trying to jumpstart his memory, but nothing worked.  It was getting late, and Ladybug knew that she had to get home soon no matter what, which worried her even more. If her parents were anything like Chat's parents, then his parents would be concerned about his disappearance.  She looked back to Chat, who was jumping back and forth between two buildings. He'd forgotten many things, but his Chat Noir instincts seemed to be there, if not a little rusty.  More than once she had to coach him on larger jumps, but he was relearning quickly.

When he saw her looking at him, Chat waved, then called out, "I think I got jumping down; watch this!"  Taking a step back, Chat ran to the edge.  Just as he jumped, though, his foot slipped in a puddle. Ladybug ran to the edge, knowing he would miss as Chat Noir fell.  Diving, she caught her partner's hand just as he fell below the roof level. "I'm so sorry; I thought I had it but there was a puddle..." Chat apologized as Ladybug pulled him up. "Are you alright?" he asked, shocking Ladybug. "I wasn't the one who almost just fell; I'm fine," she said. "What about you; are you ok?" Chat nodded. Ladybug looked down to her hand, still in Chat's, and coughed. Chat's eyes followed to their hands, then quickly pulled his hand away to rub the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face, an action that reminded Ladybug of someone, but she couldn't quite place the action.  "S-sorry, Ladybug," he said, and Ladybug could've sworn he blushed. "It's fine, Chat."

Ladybug's mind went back to the problem at hand with her family. "Has anyone from your family tried to contact you?" she asked Chat.  He took out his baton and opened it; the only message there was from M; Chat shook his head. "The only message I have is from what I think is a friend; it certainly doesn't sound like something a mom or dad would send."

Suddenly a plan came to Ladybug's mind. "Chat, I have to go soon, but I have a plan for where you can go until we can meet up again tomorrow.  So I have a friend who I trust who can give you a place for the evening. As long as you stay Chat Noir, there won't be a problem."  _Is this really a good plan_ , Marinette could hear Tikki asking her, but she shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind. "Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng; she's helped us in the past and I'm sure she can help us now. I just need to talk to her; I'll call you when you when I'm done with directions, ok?"

Chat nodded and Ladybug turned to go home.  "Uh, Ladybug," Chat said, "I really appreciate everything you're doing to help me." Ladybug smiled. "Anything to help a friend," she said, then paused as a sad smile passed over Chat's face.  "What's wrong, Chat? Did you remember something?"

Chat shook his head. "It's nothing Ladybug; I really am grateful for all your help today.  Maybe tomorrow we'll make some more progress." Chat smiled, and Ladybug was put off. She knew that smile, but decided not to press as she said, "you're welcome,  _minou_. I'll call you once Marinette's ready." With that, Ladybug left to her house, that fake smile stuck in her mind along with a similar smile's owner, Adrien Agreste.

After she had gone, Chat let the smile fall.  _Friend,_ he thought to himself, _friend..._ Chat frowned. The word sounded foreign to him. He had wanted to tell Ladybug this, but something within in held him back. "Friend," he said aloud to no one but himself, focusing on the word, prodding at his memory.

A person came to his mind, fuzzy, then began to clear. He could tell it was a woman, older than him with black hair. "Friend," he repeated. This time, the word's  foreignness replaced by coldness. The woman was not his friend, only labelled as such. Focusing on her, another person appeared; it was definitely male and tall. Just as details began to come together, Chat's baton buzzed and he lost focus, both the man and woman disappearing into the fuzz of his memory.

He opened the comm-link and saw Ladybug.  "Marinette's agreed to host you for the night, Chat. I'll send you directions to her house. When you get there, just knock on the trapdoor on the roof and she'll let you in. I'll see you tomorrow, Chat." Before he could say anything, she hung up. A moment later, directions appeared on his baton, and Chat followed them.

* * *

Marinette sat on her bed, anxiously waiting for Chat Noir. Tikki hovered by her desk, out of sight from the windows, ready to hide when Chat arrived. Marinette looked to her kwami, who flipped through Marinette's designs as she often did when she was antsy. Her eyes moved from Tikki to the wall behind her, nearly letting out a scream to the Adrien's that were plastered on the wall. Rushing from her bed and almost scaring Tikki in the process, Marinette quickly but carefully removed each of the model's likenesses from the wall, placing them in a box that she slid under her bed.

"Was this really a good plan, Marinette?" Tikki asked. "What if Chat Noir discovers who you are or you discover who he is?"

"I'll be careful, Tikki, and as long as you stay hidden, Chat won't find anything out. And as long as he doesn't detransform, then there's no way I can know who he is if he doesn't even know," Marinette replied. Tikki shrugged, "it's your choice, Marinette. I just hope you made the right one."

A knock from above came and Marinette shooed Tikki to her hiding spot. Walking to the trapdoor, Marinette opened the hatch to find Chat sitting on the fence of her balcony, facing away from her.  She watched for a moment as his tail swished back and forth before calling out to him.

Chat turned around and walked over to her. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" he asked. She nodded and he stuck out his hand. "Chat Noir, although I guess you knew that already. I'm sorry, I've-"

"Lost your memory. Ladybug filled me in," she finished. "You shouldn't go telling people, though. Some people may take advantage of you."

Chat smiled. "I'll have to work on that; thank you. May I come inside?"

In response, Marinette stepped away from the hatch, letting Chat Noir drop inside. He pulled the hatch shut behind him and looked around Marinette's room.

"I don't normally have people over, but I have a cot in my closet you can pull out and use," Marinette said, pointing to the closet, "and beyond that, you can just relax."

Chat surveyed the room before deciding on sitting on the side next to the wall. "So, Marinette, what do you do?" he asked.

Marinette took the seat by her desk. "Well, I'm into fashion design, so I design and make clothes. If you didn't notice the bakery downstairs, then I also enjoy baking with my parents."

Chat smiled. "I thought that I smelled something nice-" a knock on the trapdoor next to him silenced him. "Marinette," her father's voice called through the hatch, "are you ready for dinner?"

"Hide, Chat," Marinette whispered to him; Chat looked around before diving into her closet, quietly closing the door behind him as the hatch opened.

"Marinette," Tom said, "dinner."

Marinette nodded, saying "I'll be down in just a minute; I'm almost done with this design."

"Alright, just don't be too long or your mother will throw a fit."

"Yes, papa." Satisfied, Tom left, closing the hatch behind him. With a sigh, Marinette went over to her closet and opened the door. "Alright, Chat, it's safe to..." she wandered off mid sentence when she couldn't find the superhero. A tap on her shoulder made her jump, and she instinctively grabbed the hand and flipped the body attached over her shoulder into the closet. Chat lay on the floor where he landed, shock covering his face.

"Chat-"

"I'm so sorry, Marinette; I didn't mean to scare you, I just moved to a better spot while you talked with your...dad..."

Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's ok, Chat. Look, I have to head to dinner; I'll be back shortly. Try to stay quiet, ok?" Chat nodded, zipping his lip closed.

"Good," Marinette said. She went downstairs to eat with her family, her mind on her partner. The new Chat Noir was, unsurprisingly, very different. But what did surprise her was just how different he was. The Chat Noir she was used to was brave, outgoing, ready to take on everything, and (regrettably) punny. This Chat Noir, on the other hand, was quiet, uncertain, apologetic, and although he was interested in trying out things, he was very hesitant to do so. He also seemed to have lost his ability to pun, which both delighted and somewhat saddened Marinette at the same time. And his newly developed mannerisms kept coming to her mind as well: the way he rubbed his neck, that fake smile...

"Marinette," her mother asked, "are you alright? You seem distracted."

"Oh, uh, one of my friends was where the akuma attacked today and lost his memory because of it..."

"That's terrible," Sabine said, "was Ladybug able to restore it?"

Marinette swallowed. "Y-yeah, she fixed it, but before she did I talked to him, and he was completely different."

"Who was it," Tom asked.

The first person who came to Marinette's mind raced to her lips before she could stop it: "Adrien." She didn't know why it was the first name that came to her mind, but now that it had, he wouldn't leave it.

"Well, at least he's all better," Tom said. "I once knew a man who lost his memory; it was a jarring experience to say the least, both for him and me. Whatever happened when you talked to him, don't think about it too much, ok sweetie?"

Marinette nodded. The rest of their dinner passed in silence. Once she was done, Marinette excused herself and returned to her room. Chat was sitting at her desk, staring at something. If he noticed her entering, he made no sign of it. "I'm back, Chat," she said as she closed the hatch behind her. Still, Chat remained motionless.

Marinette walked over and tapped him on the shoulder, making him jump and turn. She could see tears gliding down his cheeks, but he made no move to wipe them. "Marinette! I didn't hear you, I'm sorry."

"Are you ok Chat?"

He gave her a quizzical look. "I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You're crying..."

Chat felt his cheeks, finding tears on them. "Odd," he said, "I don't remember crying." He let out a short chuckle. "Can you believe it? Me! Forgetting something," he said, a genuine smile brightening up his face. Marinette couldn't help but laugh.  _At least it wasn't a pun_ , she thought. "I remember seeing a picture on your desk," Chat said turning back to face the desk, "and something clicked in me. I can't remember what clicked, but apparently it made me cry...here it...is."

Chat Noir once again looked into the picture, seemingly lost. Marinette moved to get a view, and saw it was a picture of Adrien that she must have forgotten. "Who...who is this?" Chat asked.

"H-he's a classmate of mine as well as a famous model named Adrien Agreste and I have his picturebecausehe'safamousmodelandfornoreasonother," Marinette sped through as she took the picture from Chat and placed it back on her desk.

"Adrien Agreste...Adrien Agreste...that name sounds familiar.  Maybe I'm into fashion as well?" Chat suggested.

"It's possible, Chat," Marinette said before going to her bed, a design book in one hand and a pencil in the other. Chat remained at her desk. "Can I see some of your designs? Maybe fashion is the key to my memories."

"I'm sorry, Chat, but I'd rather not show my designs to anyone yet." "I understand," Chat said, then remained silent sitting in her chair. About an hour later, Marinette heard a low grumble come from Chat. She looked over and saw Chat sitting, one of his hands moving to his stomach. He turned and quickly moved his hand away from his stomach when he saw that Marinette was watching him.

"Chat...do you remember when you last ate?" Marinette didn't need an answer, though, as she remembered the day they spent together, traversing almost the entirety of Paris in only a few short hours. They didn't stop for anything, food included. She winced as Chat slowly shook his head, looking down where he sat.

 _Chat works just as hard as you do,_ Marinette told herself,  _which means at the end of the day he's probably just as hungry as you too._

"Why didn't you say anything? I could've grabbed you something when I got dinner," Marinette asked, bewildered.

"I'm sorry; I didn't want to be bothersome since I'm your guest..." Chat said, sincerity in his voice. He clasped his hands in his lap as another deep rumble filled the room. "I'm sorry," Chat mumbled again.

Marinette walked over to the hatch. "It's alright, Chat; I'll whip something up for you to eat."  _I'm sorry I didn't get you anything sooner,_ she added mentally before descending to make something for him.

* * *

Even though it was past midnight, Marinette couldn't sleep. First, Chat Noir lost all of his memories, and Ladybug could do nothing but take him around the city to see if they could jog his memory. Then she invited him to stay at her house that night, where she got a much different side of Chat Noir, one that was almost a polar opposite to the cat she knew. But Chat wasn't the only thing on her mind that night.

Ever since she blurted out Adrien's name at dinner, he hadn't left her mind. But instead of feeling admiration for him like she normally would, she just felt anxious. Tossing and turning, the two people swirling around in her mind. One minute, Chat Noir gave her a rehearsed smile. It was replaced by Adrien rubbing the back of his neck, a genuine smile on his face. Then Chat again, this time the one rubbing his neck. He was soon replaced by Adrien, giving Marinette a fake smile.

The similarities between them were too uncanny. But Chat Noir couldn't be Adrien Agreste, right? There would have been some release by the Agreste household once he failed to show up that evening, right?

She hoped she was.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Til next time.  
> Peace.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Job searching has been taking up much of my time; sorry this chapter came late (and I swear I'll get back to Shadows eventually)

Chat Noir woke up to something poking him in his side. Rolling over, his hand first went to his back where his staff was, only to see it a second later next to him.  _Right,_ he thought,  _took that off before I fell asleep...then what poked me?_ His hand brushed the pouches along his waist, and for a second he felt the pressure again. Reaching into the pocket, Chat found the source of his discomfort: a beaded bracelet. Chat looked at the bracelet, his eyes tracing the beads, each one creating some feeling within him.

He didn't know why, but he felt as if this bracelet was very important; the longer he looked at it, the stronger the feeling got. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling, trying to find out what it was that was so important. When he opened his eyes, they had moved away from his hand and towards Marinette's desk and the chair in front of it. Quietly, he walked over to it, something coming back to him. He sat in the chair, and suddenly, something came to him.

_I've got a secret,_ he could almost hear,  _this is why I win._ He knew that voice from somewhere...

_Are you messing with me?_ That was...his voice? Chat was almost certain it was.

_Try playing a match with it._ The voice was so familiar; Chat knew it was someone close to him. He could almost see her...Marinette? Suddenly, his ear twitched and his memory was forgotten again; someone was coming.

Chat, as quietly as he could, jumped away from Marinette's desk; as he reached her closet, the trap door opened. Peeking out through the crack, Adrien could see a large man make his way to Marinette's bed. "Marinette," the man said, shaking the sleeping girl awake, "it's 5 o'clock; time to wake up." Marinette mumbled and turned over. The man, in response, tore the sheets off of her. After feeling around for a couple seconds, Marinette realized her blanket was gone and she sat up with a yawn. "Good morning, Marinette," the man said.

"Good morning, Papa," Marinette yawned. Suddenly, she went rigid and looked to where Chat had been sleeping. He couldn't tell if she could see if he was still there or not, but a moment later she let out a sigh of relief. The man, Marinette's father Tom if he remembered correctly, peered over his shoulder. "Your room is a mess today; you should really clean that up later. Get dressed so we can begin making breakfast; I'll wait for you downstairs." Marinette nodded, neither speaking nor moving until Tom shut the trap door.

"Chat," she whispered, "Chat, where are you?"

He opened the closet door and stuck his head out. "Don't worry; I hid here when I heard him coming."

He could see Marinette look around for a moment, confused. "Where's here?"

"Your closet," he said as he stepped out. Marinette flipped a switch by her bed and the lights came on. Standing up, she stretched, saying with another yawn, "well, good morning Chat. I'm sorry I forgot to warn you about my dad waking me early this morning; that was careless of me."

Chat smiled. "It's alright; I was already awake."

Marinette walked over to her closet, then paused. "Uh, Chat, can I ask you to step outside for a minute? I need to get dressed..."

"Oh, sure," he said before walking over to the trap door leading out of her room. "Wrong way, kitty," Marinette said. With a turn, Chat walked across her room to the hatch leading outside and leapt out. Marinette dressed herself, then noticed something: her desk chair had moved. Curious, she walked over and looked. Nothing on her desk had moved, only the chair. Pushing it back into place, a glimmer caught her eye; something was on the floor. As she bent down to see what it was, her father called up to her, breaking her attention. "Marinette, hurry up! You're missing all the fun."

"I'll be just a minute," she called, the thing on the floor escaping her attention. Swiftly moving over to her bed, she pushed up the hatch to find Chat Noir leaning on her railing, looking out over the city. For a moment, in the dark, she thought that it was Adrien, but shook the thought from her head. "You're good to come back in, Chat."

He turned around fast, seemingly frightened, and scared Marinette, who lost her footing and began to fall. A gloved hand caught hers before she could land, though.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Marinette," Chat said, peering down from the hatch, "but you scared me too."

The sheepish grin he gave stirred something in her; it wasn't Chat Noir's grin, but-

"These croissants aren't going to make themselves, Marinette," Sabine called up, breaking her train of thought. "Coming!" she shouted.

As Chat entered her room, she explained, "I have to go make some pastries; it'll take a few hours, so just keep quiet in here and I'll bring you something to eat when I can."

Chat nodded, zipping his lips shut. With a nod in return, Marinette left her room to make some pastries.

Chat watched her go, and as the trap door shut, a glimmer caught his eye from the spot where he'd been sitting before. Tiptoeing to her desk once more, he reached down and picked up the bracelet; in his haste to hide, he must've dropped it. Pocketing it, he sat back down in her chair.

* * *

Marinette was exhausted; they had made more pastries than normal since her father, while trying to show off, accidentally dropped a tray of madeleines and they had to remake the entire batch. It was now 8 o'clock, later than Marinette was hoping it would be; thankfully, she sneaked away a breakfast of croissants to Chat Noir early on.

As she climbed the stairs to her room, she listened to see if she could hear Chat, but, as she expected, not a single sound came from her room. Opening the trap and looking around, she couldn't see him anywhere. Climbing up into her room and shutting the door behind her, she continued looking.

"Um...I'm sorry," she heard him say from behind. Slowly turning, she found Chat tangled up in what looked to be a few balls of yarn, stuck immobile behind the trap door. "I couldn't stop myself and the next thing I knew I was...stuck. I didn't want to cut the yarn..."

With a sigh, Marinette began untangling her partner, slowly recreating the balls as more yarn became available. As she unraveled the yarn around his head, he mumbled another apology. "I appreciate you not cutting the yarn, Chat. I just bought this for finishing up a project I was working on, and this was the last of the yarn that I could afford, and who knows when they would've gotten more in stock." Chat smiled, although she could tell it was fake.

"Why do you do that?" she asked. Chat tilted his head, "do what?"

"Smile even when you're not happy?"

Chat's smile slowly disappeared. "I don't know. It just feels like the right thing to do when I'm upset. Maybe it's tied to who I am..."

They sat in silence, the yarn ball slowly growing with each pass. Finally, the ball was finished and Chat was free.

"Now," Marinette said as she put the yarn ball back, "Ladybug told me last night that she would meet you at the top of the Eiffel Tower at 9," her eyes flicked to her clock, "which gives you half an hour to get there, ok Chat?"

He nodded. "Thank you for letting me stay here last night, Marinette. I hope I can repay you once I get my memories back."

Marinette smiled. "Good luck, Chat Noir." He smiled back, then walked over to her hatch. Once again, he jumped through the hatch, this time gone. With a sigh, Marinette walked back to her desk, opening the drawer that Tikki slept in. "Time to rise and shine, Tikki; a new day means Hawkmoth can create a new akuma, and we need to get Chat's memories back before that happens."

Her kwami yawned then shook her head. "I'm ready when you are, Marinette."

Marinette nodded, then called to her parents, "I'm going to hang out with Alya; I'll text you when I'll be back." Her mother called back an affirmative, and a transformation later, Ladybug was headed to the Eiffel Tower.

As she zipped across the city, Ladybug thought about about where in Paris might trigger Chat's memories, and as various spots in Paris went through her mind, they stopped for a moment longer on the Agreste manor.

She didn't like the thought, but every few places in her mind brought her back to his house. In her mind, she slowly compiled a list of all the places, putting the Agreste Manor at the end as a maybe. Before she knew it, Ladybug reached the Eiffel Tower and spotted her partner slowly climbing up the side. Quickly pulling herself to the top, Ladybug threw her yo-yo down, wrapping it around her partner's waist before bringing him up. 

As he landed on the spire, his eyes were wide with surprise, causing Ladybug to giggle. "What's wrong, kitty? Did I scare you?"

Chat said nothing, simply nodding. He gulped, and found his words again. "I didn't expect you to pull me up so fast; that was scary!"

Ladybug smiled as Chat regained his composure. "So, Marinette treat you alright?"

Chat nodded; "she was really kind, even after I almost ruined a project of hers. I may have even learned something about my past while I was there. I think that-"

"Don't say anything, Chat; remember, we have to keep our identities hidden, for both our sakes."

Chat nodded, "I understand. So, what are we going to do today?"

"Last night, I put together a list of the monuments and areas we didn't visit last night; we can visit those and see if you're memory jogs at all. C'mon." With that, Ladybug leapt from the top of the Tower, sliding down the side with practiced skill as Chat watched, awestruck.

When she got to the ground, she looked back up to see how far Chat had gotten, but it looked like he hadn't moved. Suddenly, he leaped out into nothing, arms extended. Icy fear shot through Ladybug's veins;  _our suits are strong,_ she thought,  _but to survive a fall from that height? HE'S GONNA DIE!_

She pulled her arm back, prepared to throw her yo-yo to save him when she noticed him grab his baton. With a quick flick, the baton opened into his staff and he jammed it into the monument. Flipping around it like an acrobat, Chat dislodged the staff having nearly stopped his fall all together before sliding down the leg like she had. In a moment, he'd landed in front of her.

"DID YOU SEE THAT!" he shouted, excited.

Ladybug was stunned. "Chat..."

"I didn't think that would work, but something in me said it would! I just went with it, and poof!" The smile that beamed on his face shocked her for a second; this was the Chat Noir she first met: the one ready to take on the world, new to his abilities and just all around happy. She smiled in return, glad that at least some part of Chat was still there.

"And it's all thanks to you, Ladybug!" He gripped her in a tight hug. "If I hadn't watched you first, I don't think I would've been able to get down in the first place!"

Normally, Ladybug would've pushed Chat Noir away, but something about his joy just made her want to hug him back. So she did.

Chat went rigid at her touch, but then relaxed. Even after they separated, Chat's smile still beamed. "So, where to now, my Lady?"

Ladybug froze. "What did you say?"

Chat tilted his head. "I asked where to now."

Ladybug shook her head. "You said 'my Lady.'"

"I-is there something wrong with that?" Chat asked, worry in his voice.

Ladybug smiled. "That's what you always call me,  _chatton_. 'My Lady.' Maybe you're memory is coming back, even if you don't realize it. Can you remember anything else?"

"Well, I-"

A series of screams cut him off. The heroes looked to the source just as a man ran towards them.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir! Thank God! There's an akuma tearing down Main Street! PLEASE! SAVE US!" The man ran off, leaving the two superheroes looking at each other.

"Uh-oh..." Ladybug said as the screams got closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Til next time.  
> Peace


	4. Chapter 4

Chat Noir followed as Ladybug ran towards the chaos. People were running in the opposite direction, and Chat felt his stomach drop. "Uh, Ladybug," he called, "are you sure it's wise to just rush right towards the...akuma, was it?" He heard her snicker from ahead.

"It is akuma, yes, and that's funny coming from you," she responded, "but I understand your concern. Our suits and abilities protect us from the worst they can do. And although you lost your memory, you still have some muscle memory which will help us in fighting the akuma." "Alright then, my Lady. Let's go," Chat said. Suddenly, Chat was in front of her, running on his arms and legs. Ladybug smiled.  _Maybe this won't be as bad I thought it would be,_ she thought to herself.

As they approached Main Street, they stopped. Much of the street was burning in an inferno, and what wasn't was encased in ice. On top of an ice pillar that stood in the middle of the street stood two people. "Ladybug," called one of them. "And Chat Noir," finished the other. Together, they slid down the pillar, one firing a beam of ice, creating a path of ice for them to continue sliding; the other pointed a hand forward and shot a large fireball at the two superheroes. They leapt out of the way, but were now separated by the two akuma.

"This is my twin,  _Brûlé,"_ said the one facing Ladybug, pointing behind him. "And he's  _Gelé,"_ said the other, pointing behind him. The twins were indistinguishable, each wearing a full-body unitard with a fiery design reaching their midsections; covering their chests and arms was a snowflake pattern. Their faces were hidden by a mask that copied their outfits style, except it moved.

"Now,"  _Brûlé_ said, "hand over the Miraculouses-"

"Or face the consequences,"  _Gelé_ finished.

"The what?" Chat asked.

_Right,_ Ladybug thought,  _I forgot to explain the Miraculouses to him..._ "We'll never hand them over!"

"What she said," Chat said.

_Brûlé_  and _Gelé_ looked over their shoulders at the other, nodded, then attacked.  _Brûlé_ jumped over his brother's shoulder, firing a fireball at Ladybug while  _Gelé_ turned and fired an ice beam at Chat. Chat leaped out of the way, dodging the beam by a hair as Ladybug swung her yo-yo about, diffusing the fireball as it struck.  Undeterred,  _Brûlé_  fired shot after shot at Ladybug, who either blew them apart or dodged them, all the while keeping an eye on her partner. Thankfully, he seemed to have some memories concerning their battles return as he steadily dodged each attack from  _Gelé_. Satisfied, she looked back to the akuma attacking her and began searching his body for where the akuma was hiding. She finally found an opening and attacked, wrapping her yo-yo string around his hands and slamming him into a nearby building.

Chat saw Ladybug's attack and had an idea. He took out his staff and stopped moving. "Man, maybe that ice power is just slowing you down," he taunted, "cause I  _cold_ easily dodge those beams." Chat frowned when he heard Ladybug sigh at his pun, but the akuma laughed. "At least someone's not  _bugged_ by my joke," Chat said, earning another laugh from the akuma and a facepalm from Ladybug.

"You're a funny guy,"  _Gelé_ said, "it's too bad we have to be enemies." Holding out his hand, he fired a beam of ice. Chat quickly moved his staff in the way of the beam before leaping out of the way. Now, instead of a staff, he had a giant hammer with a head of ice. As he swung it at the akuma,  _Gelé_ whispered, "wicked," before he went flying into his brother, who had just gotten back out of the hole Ladybug had created.

"That was amazing, Chat!" Ladybug said. "Now, time to finish this. Lucky Charm!" She threw her yo-yo into the sky, and down came a chisel. As she looked around, a plan came to her mind.  _If Chat hammers this chisel next to the building and uses Cataclysm on the other, then it should be enough to trap the akuma where they are!_

"Chat, hit this," she shouted as she threw the chisel towards him. He spun around and slammed his ice hammer into it, sending it flying into the building. A series of cracks appeared on part of the building, where the brothers were still getting up. "Now, shout Cataclysm and focus all your power into your hand, then touch the other side of the hole!"

Chat nodded. "CATACLYSM!" he shouted as he leaped towards the building. As his hand pressed against the stone, he stopped. "Uh, LB, nothing's happening..."

_Plagg put on special parameters,_ she remembered,  _and I'll bet that one of them is Cataclysm...zut alors._

"Get away, Chat!" she yelled. Chat leapt back, just in time, too. A fireball from  _Brûlé_ burned the wall where he just was. "Well, looks like we'll need to separate them, eh brother?" asked one of the twins.

"Then let's get to it," said the other. One of the akuma jumped through the smoke towards Ladybug. She spun her yo-yo, prepared for a fireball. "Wrong person,"  _Gelé_ said as he fired an ice beam at the ground beneath Ladybug.  _Brûlé,_ meanwhile, had jumped to Chat and created a wall of fire encircling him. Chat tried to swipe away the fire, but all it did was melt his hammer back to a staff.

Within a moment, Ladybug was surrounded by bars made of ice. "Now, we can deal with Chat all by himself,"  _Gelé_ said as he went to his brother.  _Brûlé_ nodded as  _Gelé_ reached him, then let the fiery tornado subside.  _Gelé_ was quick to act and fired another two beams at Chat Noir, binding his hands and feet in ice. The brothers hi-fived as Ladybug called her partner's name out in vain.

"Let's take this somewhere more private,"  _Brûlé_ said as he grabbed one of Chat's arms. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  _Gelé_ asked as he took Chat's other arm.

With a nod to each other, the akumas yanked Chat away,  _Gelé_ creating a path for them to run and  _Brûlé_ melting it behind them, leaving Ladybug trapped with no way to follow them. Chat watched his partner struggle to break out of her icy prison as the two villains pulled him away.

* * *

Chat Noir was strapped, well, frozen, into a chair. The two akuma had sat him down and froze his arms and legs to the arms and legs of the chair before freezing the chair to the ground. Chat hadn't gotten a good look at where they were, but it looked like a warehouse from inside; a warehouse that these two often visited, apparently, as there was a television, game console, comfortable-looking chairs, and a pile of snacks that surrounded him.

"We can focus on Ladybug later,"  _Brûlé_ said, "for now, let's take Chat Noir's Miraculous; then we won't have to worry about him." He walked towards Chat and looked at the ring on his right hand. Carefully, he melted part of Chat's hand free, enough that he could remove the ring. But, as he tried to pull, it wouldn't come off. 

"Help me with this,"  _Brûlé_ called his brother over. _G_ _elé_ nodded, and pulled from his brother's back, but no matter how hard they pulled it wouldn't come off.

"Is that ring my Miraculous?" Chat asked once the akumas had given up. He tried to flex his hand to see it better.

"What do you mean? Of course it's your Miraculous,"  _Gelé_ said. "...it is, isn't it?"  _Brûlé_ shrugged in response. "Hawkmoth did say get his ring."

"Who?" Chat asked.

The brothers looked at each other, then back to the superhero. "Are you stupid? He's the guy you two have been fighting for like a year now!"

"Oh," Chat said, "I'm sorry; I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I kinda...lost my memory the other day..."

The brothers looked at Chat, then faced each other.

"He doesn't know what the Miraculouses are-"

"-didn't know that they're wanted by Hawkmoth until Ladybug told him-"

"-doesn't know who Hawkmoth is-"

"-but yet can still fight-"

"-probably by muscle memory-"

"-which explains how he couldn't use-"

"-Cataclysm without Ladybug's instruction-"

"-and I can tell he's not lying-"

"-he was genuinely clueless-"

"-so I think it's safe to say-"

"-he does indeed have-"

"-amnesia," the brothers said simultaneously with a nod to each other.

"Ok, I know you're my enemies and all," Chat said, "but that was wild; could you always do that or is that because of the akuma?"

The brothers looked at each other and nodded. "If you can win our favorite game-"

"-we'll tell you anything you want to know. But if you lose-"

"-you tell us everything you know; we know it's not much, but anything and everything helps." The akumas walked over to Chat. "Deal?" they asked in unison.

Chat eyed them. "What's the game?"

"Simple. Tell us who is who-"

"-and why. Get it right-"

"-and you win."

They walked in front of Chat and stood. Chat eyed them again, then pointed to the one on the right with his unfrozen hand. " _Brûlé_ ," he said, then moved his finger to the one on the left, " _Gelé."_

"Correct, but we didn't start the game,"  _Brûlé_ said. "So, deal?"  _Gelé_ asked once more.

Chat nodded silently, and the twins spun around each other at an incredible speed; Chat's eyes couldn't follow. After a minute, they stopped and stood shoulder to shoulder. 

"Now-"

"-which-"

"-is-"

"-which?"

Chat in silence for a moment, studying them. "You didn't change spots;  _Gelé_ is on the left while  _Brûlé_ is on the right." The brothers looked at each other. "And how did you decide on that?"  _Brûlé_ asked.

"It's your masks," Chat said, trying to point at them. "They're nearly identical, but if you look at  _Brûlé's_ , the fire is a little more active than on  _Gelé's_ mask, and the same goes for the snowflakes on  _Gelé's_ mask."

_Brûlé_  and  _Gelé_ took off their masks and stared at them intently. The two were truly identical; both had red-brown After handing their masks to each other,  _Gelé_ said, "you're right; how did you-"

"-figure that out so quickly?"  _Brûlé_ finished.

"I don't know," Chat responded, shrugging, "I knew from when we first started fighting, hence why I let you surround me with flame rather than trying to dodge and get burned."

They looked at each other and smiled. Throwing their masks behind them, they spun around once more, this time even faster.

"Now...who is who?" they asked simultaneously, a confident grin on both their faces. Chat studied them for a moment before saying, "you didn't change positions again;  _Brûlé_ is on the right and  _Gelé_ on the left." The brothers' confidence broke for a quick instant before  _Brûlé_ asked, "and how did you know?"

Chat sat for a moment in thought. "Well,  _Brûlé_ , you're more confident than your brother. I don't mean that _G_ _elé_ isn't confident, he just hides it better while you wear your emotions on your sleeve."

The brothers looked at each other, stunned. Slowly, they sat down in the remaining chairs, defeated. "Well, you won, so we'll tell you as much as we know,"  _Gelé_ said.

"What would you like to know?"  _Brûlé_ asked.

"Well to start off, do you usually know what the other's going to say or did that come with your abilities?"

The twins looked at each other. "Well, we've always been like that-"

"-for as long as we can remember, at least."

"My brother is the closest person in the world to me,"  _Brûlé_ said, "and the same goes for him. We've had such a hard time with others that we kinda just focused on our relationship."

"So much so that it's like we have the same brain,"  _Gelé_ explained.

Chat nodded. "Ok, so how did you become these...akuma? And how would I stop that?" he asked.

The brothers looked to each other, nervous. "That's...a difficult story for us,"  _Gelé_ said after a bit. "We grew up with only our mother, and she's..."

"-evil,"  _Brûlé_ sharply said. His brother shot him a frown. "Ok, she's not evil, but she doesn't really care for us. All she cares about is herself."

Chat felt something pull inside him, a pang of familiarity. The two adults he'd pictured previously returned, this time nearly clear as day.

"She cares about us, Lucien,"  _Gelé_ said, "she...she just doesn't know how to show it well. Our dad left before we were born, and it really damaged our mom. Sometimes she says the wrong things....she tries sometimes, but-"

"-is cold and distant when she does?," Chat said. The twins looked at him, then to each other. "How did you know?"

Chat began to shrug, then stopped and let out a sigh. "I don't know who my parents are, but I keep seeing these two people who could be my mom and dad. But whenever I can see them, all I feel is coldness, like-"

"-they don't always care,"  _Brûlé_ said. Chat nodded; "I tried to make excuses as to why, like maybe they're super busy or maybe they're not even my parents, but...but..." Chat felt a tear slide down his cheek.  _Brûlé_ looked to his brother, who nodded. Creating a small cloud of flame, he melted the ice surrounding Chat's hand, which quickly swept away the tear.

"It's ok, dude,"  _Gelé_ said. "Look, Hawkmoth told us we need to get the Miraculouses from you and Ladybug, but beyond that I don't think he has much control over us."

"Why's that?" Chat asked.

"Well, Hawkmoth has been doing this for about a year now,"  _Brûlé_ explained, "and he has never had two akuma at the same time. Maybe his powers are weakened because there's two of us? Look, it doesn't matter why. I'll be honest with you, Chat, you're one of the first people who could tell us apart; our mother rarely gets it right. None of us knows about your past, but Andrew and I can both tell that our pasts are at least a little similar."

"Which is why we're going to help you,"  _Gelé_ explained. "We can't very well go around with a superhero trying to help regain his memories, but we can hand over our akumatized items so you and Ladybug can fix this mess."

_Brûlé_ shot fire at the remaining ice surround Chat, freeing him. "Are you sure you guys will be ok? As much as I forgot, I do vaguely remember akumas are attracted to negative emotions..."

_Gelé_ smiled. "Of course; worst comes to worst, we have each other and this hideout to escape to."

Chat smiled back. "Man,  _Gelé,_ you really are the coolest." He looked to  _Brûlé_. "So I guess that makes you the hotter brother?"

All three of them laughed at Chat's puns. Soon, the three forgot about the outside world and their unhappy lives amidst jokes.

Ladybug found them an hour later, the twins laughing their heads off as Chat finished another joke. Carefully, Ladybug approached the three, yo-yo ready to fight them if Chat had somehow been brainwashed. Chat saw her first and waved. "Hey, Ladybug; don't worry, they've agreed to hand over their akuma items without a fight." The twins nodded, but Ladybug was still suspicious.

"Chat, you do know that those were created and controlled by our sworn enemy, right?" Ladybug said, carefully eyeing the two akuma.

"Hawky's power seems to be weak because he used it on two people at once," Chat explained. Ladybug's yo-yo stopped spinning in the air. "Hawky?"

"Hawkmoth," the twins said in unison. "Chat Noir created that little nickname by accident-" one twin said.

"-and it's stuck ever since," finished the other.

"So...Hawky...doesn't have full control over you two?" Ladybug asked, pointing at the twins. They shook their heads. "And you're just going to give up your powers?" They nodded.  _Brûlé_ said, "we talked with Chat, and it turns out we have a lot more in common than you'd think."

"So we agreed to help him with his...problem...by giving you our akumatized things and keeping the problem a secret. In return, Chat said he'd come hang with us every once in a while."

"Can you hold on a minute, guys?" Ladybug asked as she pulled Chat to the side. Whispering to him, she said, "you can't hang out with these guys, Chat."

"Why can't I? They're trustworthy enough that I could."

"Because what if Hawkmoth finds out? If he does, then he'll target them, too. And if anything happens to them, it'd be your fault for bringing them in to this."

Chat frowned. He tried to think of excuses, but he could see that Ladybug was right. "Now, let's get those items and get out of here; we still have to get your memory back."

"Then I'm telling them the truth," Chat decided. "I'll explain why I can't hang out with them; it's the least I can do."

"And what if they fly into a rampage?" Ladybug asked, "look, just hold off a little longer and then tell them the truth, ok?"

Chat frowned and walked past Ladybug. "Andrew, Lucien, I won't be able to hang out with you guys. At least, not immediately," he said.

"Chat, what did I just-"

"If I did, then I'd be putting you at more risk of being attacked by Hawky than you currently are. But I do promise that when we beat Hawkmoth, I'll come hang out as often as I can."

The twins paused and looked at Chat, then each other. Ladybug tensed up, ready to run if the need arose. Suddenly, they stood up and slowly walked to Chat. Each put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a three way hug. "It's no problem, Chat," one said. "We'll be waiting, so get out there and get your memories back so you can kick Hawky off his perch." Stepping away, they walked over to Ladybug. One of them pulled a necklace out of a hidden pocket, handing it to Ladybug. Hanging from the end was what looked like a lightening bolt. Ladybug snapped it, and a black butterfly came out. Ladybug purified it, and threw the chisel she had used to break free into the air. Ladybugs flew out of the warehouse, flying around Paris, repairing and defrosting the damages the twins had done. She handed back the necklace to the twins.

"This was going to be a gift for our mom," Andrew, formerly  _Gelé_ said. "But she threw it out when she thought we weren't looking," Lucien, formerly  _Brûlé_ , said. They walked back over to Chat and held it out for him. "A promise," they said.

"To return," Chat finished taking it. Andrew and Lucien took out similar necklaces; Andrew's had a snowflake while Lucien had a flame. "I hope you get your memories back soon, Chat," Lucien said. Chat smiled. "Me too; now I have to get going. Bye!"

"Bye," they said in unison once more. With a wave, Chat used his staff to launch himself to the ceiling, Ladybug following a moment later. When she got to the roof, though, Chat had already sat down near the edge, the necklace dangling from his hand. Ladybug sat next to him. "You really shouldn't keep that, Chat," she warned.

"They helped me remember something, something I didn't really want to remember," Chat said, ignoring her remark. "I know who my parents or guardians or whatever they are are."

"And why didn't want to remember that, Chat?"

He shrugged, wrapping the necklace up. "It feels like an old wound. But it's also personal..."

Ladybug stiffened. "I see..." She heard him unzip one of his pockets. "Oh yea, I forgot about this," he said.

"Forgot about wh-" she froze when she saw what was in his hands: a very familiar lucky bracelet.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out; I was planning on doing alternating chapters each week between this and another piece I'm working on, but last weekend I was busy with stuff for school, job searching, etc.  
> And for the akuma's names (if you didn't know), _Brûlé_ means burnt/burned and _Gelé_ means frozen.  
>  Til next time.  
> Peace.


	5. Chapter 5

Ladybug's mind raced, attempting to come up with explanations why Chat would have a bracelet that she gave Adrien, trying not to connect the two as one.  _Maybe Adrien gave it to Chat or Chat found it one of the times that an akuma went after Adrien. Maybe it's an entirely unrelated bracelet, just one that looks like the one I gave him..._

"Are you feeling alright, my Lady?" Chat asked, noticing Ladybug's stunned silence.

"Uh, Chat," she asked, her voice wavering, "I know you may not know, but where did you get that bracelet from?"

Chat Noir shrugged, holding it aloft as he stared at it. "I don't remember, but whenever I look at it I start to remember..some...one..." He drifted off as he stared at it. He could see a girl, probably around his age, and slowly but surely, the details were coming to the mystery woman.

Ladybug couldn't take the silence. "Who do you remember? If you can-" She stopped talking as he started mumbling.

"She's about my age," he said, "with...black? No, blue hair...I feel like I know this person, a friend, maybe?"

Ladybug's heart raced. Her eyes kept alternating between the bracelet and Chat's face, which mirrored his concentration. For a minute, neither spoke, then Chat mumbled a name that sent a shiver down Ladybug's spine: "Marinette..."

Her head swirled. "What did you say, Chat?"

Chat looked at her, confused. "Did I say something? I didn't think I did."

Ladybug nodded. "You said a name...you said-"

"Marinette," Chat finished, looking at the bracelet. He turned to Ladybug. "Marinette gave me this; maybe she knows who I am!"

Ladybug's heart nearly stopped when she finally spoke. "I know who you are...or, at least, I have a good guess." Her voice was hollow, and Chat frowned as he put the bracelet away.

"Was the bracelet something you weren't supposed to see?" he asked. She nodded and he slumped. "Sorry for revealing who I am, then..."

Ladybug smiled. She put a hand on Chat's back. "It's ok,  _chatton_ , it was bound to happen eventually." She stood up. "Also, now I can take you to places where who I think you are goes; maybe it'll help recover your memory."

Chat returned her smile and stood up, pocketing the bracelet. Without a warning, he hugged her. Ladybug blushed as her mind put together that Adrien Agreste was hugging her. Suddenly, her mind connected all that it would imply should Adrien be Chat Noir, all the flirting, jokes,  _the kiss_. Ladybug nearly fainted in Chat's arms, but was able to remain standing.

"Alright," she said, "then let's get going!" She jumped from the building, her heart soaring as she led Chat to their first location: the school.

Soon, they alighted on top of the school, overlooking the courtyard. Thankfully, the school was closed so no one was there to interrupt or question the heroes.  Chat wandered around, studying the school and looking into the classrooms, Ladybug not far behind him. When he arrived at Mme. Bustier's class, he stopped and went inside. Ladybug stood in the doorway watching as Chat walked around the room.

"Something about this room feels familiar," he said as he sat down in Adrien's spot, "but I can't quite put my paw on it..."

Ladybug shook her head, her smile fading a little. A little voice had started to creep in her head and she was trying her hardest to ignore it.

"C'mon Chat," she said. He stood up and followed her as they returned to the courtyard. She saw a couple foils standing in a corner and picked them up. "Catch," she said, tossing one to Chat. He caught it and stared at it for a second, confused.

"En guarde!" Ladybug said, taking up a stance and lunging at him.

Without knowing what was going on, Chat immediately took up a stance and parried her lunge. "Whoa," he said to himself. Ladybug smiled. "Now I definitely know who you are," she said as she took the foil back, placing them where she found them.

"Glad that makes one of us," Chat said, and while he meant it lightheartedly, Ladybug felt a pit form in her stomach. As they finished their tour of the school, Chat took a deep breath.

"I definitely know this place," he said, "but beyond that feeling, I'm not getting anything else."

"There's still more places to go," Ladybug said. Chat bowed. "Then lead the way, my Lady."

* * *

Several hours later, the superheroes had scoured the city. They'd been everywhere: the park where Adrien had his spring photoshoot, Le Grand Paris (where she thought he would have spent time with Chloé), and even a fashion show, but he could only ever get the feeling that he knew the place.

Now, there was just one place left to go: the Agreste Manor. They soon found themselves opposite of the mansion.

"This is the last place that I can think of that would restore your memory," Ladybug said. When she turned to Chat though, she saw uncertainty in his eyes. "Chat? You ok?"

"Remember how I said earlier about the personal thing I didn't want to remember? This place is giving me that feeling..."

She pulled Chat close. "I know it may hurt," she said, "but we have to at least check. If anything, this place will get your memories back."

Chat looked from her to the house, then back to her. "This is where I live, isn't it?" he whispered. She nodded and he looked back to his house. "I don't know if I want to remember," he said.

She reached down, took his hand and squeezed it. "It'll be alright, Chat, trust me."

He nodded and, together, they jumped over the perimeter fence. A second later, the door opened and a big burly man with a bat stepped out, freezing when he saw the heroes. Ladybug recognized him as Adrien's bodyguard, the Gorilla.

"Sorry for disturbing you," she said, "but we're tracking an akuma and we think it went somewhere in your garden. It'll be best for you to stay inside while we deal with it." With a silent nod, the Gorilla looked around then walked back inside, closing the door behind him.

"That'll buy us some time," she said as she walked towards the garden. Chat stood still, then followed a moment later. Catching up to her, he grabbed her then extended his staff, sending them both to the roof.

Ladybug stumbled as they landed on top. "You could've just said to com-"

Chat quickly put his hand over her mouth, moving a finger over his own. She nodded, understanding. He shortened his baton and opened it, then paused. "How do I get to the messaging part of this?" he asked. Ladybug opened her yo-yo, quickly typing out a message to him.

Chat's staff buzzed and he pressed the notification, opening a chat log with her.

LB:  _Like this_

He nodded, then quickly typed out a response. Ladybug looked at her yo-yo when it arrived.

CN:  _that man made me remember somethin theres mics n cameras evrywher so shhhh_

Ladybug nodded. "Then after you," she said. Chat walked carefully, looking down into the yard and, at a couple places, into the windows looking inside. As he looked into one room, he froze.

"What is it?" Ladybug whispered. Chat remained silent. She could see his eyes flying around whatever was in the room, but didn't risk looking herself. Quietly, Chat jumped down from the roof. Ladybug followed and looked into the room: it was Adrien's.

A moment later, the pane of glass she was staring through slid open, startling her. Chat climbed through, walking to the middle of the room and slowly spun, looking over the room. Ladybug pulled herself into the room and slowly walked over to Chat.

As she reached him, he moved away, making a beeline for the dresser next to his bed. Opening the drawer, he took out a small circular container. Then, he walked to the desk. There, he reached behind and pulled out a hexagonal container. Ladybug recognized it; it was similar to the box that first housed her Miraculous. After a moment, Chat put it back behind his desk and walked over to the couch in the middle of the room. Sitting down on it, he opened the circular container he still held, a strong smell coming from it.

"It's funny," Chat said, his voice betraying melancholy, "I knew where to find those containers and what was in this one, but I can't for the life of me remember anything else." He picked out a piece of cheese from the open container and popped it in his mouth, grimacing. "And now I know I don't like camembert," he said as he closed the lid and put the cheese container on the side table.

Ladybug sat down next to him. "Ladybug, I'm not remembering anything. I don't know how I opened the window, only knew where a secret switch was. I knew where I kept cheese that I don't even like, and i knew about that other box, but I can't remember anything else. What if...what if I never get my memories back?"

Ladybug wanted to answer, but the same question had been plaguing her all day and she had no response. "You know," Chat said, "you never told me who I am."

Ladybug sighed. "I'd tell you, but I don't know if it's safe here. You did say there were cameras, mics..."

Chat shook his head. "No, I can't explain it, but I know this room is free of all those things."

"Well, you would know since this is your room. Your name," she said, "is Adrien."

Chat scrunched his nose. "Adrien...Agreste? He-me, the model?" Ladybug nodded.

He concentrated, but couldn't remember anything more than what Marinette had told him. "It's useless," he finally said, "I'm never going to remember who I am."

Ladybug rubbed Chat's head, pulling him close. Her mind ran over anything she may have missed to help regain his memories, but nothing came to mind. As the sun began to set, Ladybug sighed.

"I have to get going, Chat," she said. "I'll see if Marinette can host you again. I promise that we'll figure something out tomorrow; I won't sleep until we've succeeded."

Chat said nothing, a sad nod saying it for him. Ladybug stood up, waved goodbye, then jumped out the window headed home. Halfway to her house, she shot Chat a text saying that it was ok while her mind raced to figure out a cure for his amnesia.

* * *

Chat was lying on the cot in Marinette's room. It was long past midnight, but he couldn't sleep. He couldn't see her, but he could tell by her breathing that Marinette couldn't sleep either. He had arrived shortly after Ladybug had given him the go-ahead, and a homemade dinner was waiting for him when he got there. This time, though, Marinette was quiet around him. Whatever was bothering her when he'd arrived was still bothering her now.

"Marinette?" he softly called out.

"Can't sleep either?" she whispered.

Chat shook his head, then remembered she probably couldn't see him. "No. There's too many things going through my head. You?"

"Same," Marinette sighed. A light switched on from Marinette's bedside. Chat flipped to his side.

"Wanna talk them out?" he offered. She shook her head. "It's just about...about fashion things," she mumbled. 

Chat frowned. Suddenly, a book flopped near him. "I know a lot must be going on right now," Marinette said, "so you can distract yourself with that for now. It's an old sketchbook of mine, all things I've already made."

Chat picked up the sketchbook. And began flipping through it. Marinette, meanwhile, was struggling. So far, everything she'd thought of in order to get Chat's memories back had failed.  _I could try getting him to Master Fu, see if he can do anything to help._ She added it to her mental list and strained to think of another option. She didn't know him too well, but she was more worried about how they would go see him. Sneaking into her room was easy because of the hatch she had. Also, her street was quiet enough that, if he was quick, Chat probably wouldn't be noticed in the middle of the day. But Master Fu? As far as she knew, his home only had one entrance at the street level and the street was too busy to sneak a superhero through. With an exasperated sigh, Marinette screwed her eyes shut and turned off the light in an attempt to sleep.

Chat Noir, meanwhile, was studying Marinette's works. He had stopped on a page where a bowler hat was designed; something about it was familiar, but, like much of what he'd seen today, couldn't remember it. Suddenly, the light by Marinette's bed went out. Chat didn't say anything, though, as he could see well enough with the night vision his suit provided. He looked to where Marinette was and froze: there was something by her bed that tugged at his memory.

Silently, he crawled over to her bed, his eyes never leaving the thing that they'd locked on to. He finally reached it, his hand wrapping around the handle of a black umbrella. He studied it carefully, something pushing at the corners of his mind. He could almost smell rain as he looked it over. His finger passed over a button on the handle and, with a whoosh, the umbrella opened. He swore he saw a flash of lightening and heard a roar of thunder as it opened. Suddenly, a light came on right next to his head and he was face to face with Marinette.

"Chat, what're you..." she stopped when she saw the open umbrella, the one Adrien had given to her the first day they met.

Snapped out of his trance, Chat stepped back. "I'm sorry, Marinette, there was just something about this umbrella...here. I shouldn't have touched it without your permission," he said as he held it out to her.  _Just like Adrien had,_ Marinette thought. Their fingers brushed as she took it. Suddenly, Marinette felt very shy; she felt a blush appear on her cheeks. As she pulled it close to her, her finger slid over the button and her world was covered by the black cloth of the umbrella. She slowly opened it to see Chat less than a foot away, his eyes wide.

Chat's mind was running wild, and suddenly he remembered where he'd seen that umbrella. He remembered that entire day, when his father had allowed him to go to school, when he and Ladybug fought their first akuma together. He remembered the next day, and the day before. His mind began to quickly fill, hundreds of memories returning all at once. The floodgates opened, and Chat Noir remembered everything.

"Chat?" Marinette asked, cautiously hopeful.

"I remember now," Chat said. He smiled, a grin that covered his face. "I remember now! I remember everything!" A beep from his ring made him pause. "Right! Gotta detransform. Thank you Marinette for hosting me, tell Ladybug the good news if I don't first, but I have to go!"

"Chat, wait!" she said as she sat up, stopping him from escaping.

"Uh, Marinette, I'm about to detransform and my secret identity is, well, secret. I have to go."

"I know who you are," she said.

Chat felt fear start to creep in him, and after a pause continued trying to get out. "Marinette, now's not the time for joking. Look, I really appreciate all that you've done for me and Ladybug, but our secret identit-"

"I am Ladybug," Marinette said. Chat froze. His ring gave out another beep, but neither moved. "You're...Ladybug? Prove it," he said cautiously.

Something tapped on Chat's shoulder and he turned. There, floating next to his head, was Tikki. He stared at Tikki for a moment, then turned back to Marinette. "So, you're Ladybug," he said, teetering, threatening to fall over. When he finally fell, it was to envelop Marinette in a hug. "Plagg," he mumbled into her shoulder,  _"détransformez-moi."_

Marinette's room lit up in green, illuminating Adrien hugging Marinette. "Thank you, for everything, Marinette," he said. "N-no problem, Adrien," she squeaked back.

Tikki found Plagg sleeping on the ground next to Marinette's bed. "Plagg looks exhausted from being constantly transformed for a couple days; I don't know if he'll wake up in time for the next akuma," she said.

Adrien smiled. "Oh, I know what'll wake him up." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wheel of camembert, carefully wrapped up; the crinkle of the paper was enough to make Plagg's ear twitch. Adrien unwrapped it and passed it over the kwami's head. A moment later, Plagg's eyes shot open and he floated up to where Adrien was holding the cheese, causing Tikki to giggle. 

"Food, of course," she said, "why didn't I think of that."

Adrien let him have the cheese, which he slowly ate, growing more aware of his surroundings as the cheese disappeared.

"So," Plagg said as he finished the wheel, "Tikki, great to see you again. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Ladybug, whichever you prefer, pleasure to meet you. What'd I miss?"

As Marinette, Adrien, and Tikki started telling him what had happened, Plagg realized that it was going to be a long night. _But, at least everyone was happy,_ he thought to himself.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Til next time.  
> Peace.

**Author's Note:**

> For those curious where the beam came from, there are satellites orbiting Earth with very reflective surfaces, and Chat **is** the embodiment of bad luck after all. It's totally plausible. Most likely.  
>  Til next time.  
> Peace.


End file.
